Heritage planning $100M Williamsburg development

By Holly Dutton
Real estate investment firm, Heritage Equity Partners, is planning a $100 million redeveloped of a full Williamsburg block.

Heritage purchased the site at 19 Wythe Avenue on Dec. 31, said Eastern Consolidated’s Gabe Safiotti, who along with executive managing director Alan P. Miller, represented the firm.

GABE SAFFIOTI

According to public records, 19 Wythe Avenue, a full block encompassed by N12th and N13th Streets and Kent Avenue, was purchased for $31.75 million.

The 80,000 s/f site was purchased from Sylvan Holdings, LLC, which had owned the commercial site for more than 40 years.

“When the site first came to market in July and we first got the listing to sell, it was $19 million,” said Safiotti. “It ended up trading for more than $30 million, which just shows the strength of the submarket in Williamsburg.”

The company plans to completely redevelop the site into a “marketplace concept” mixed-use commercial site with second floor office space, ground floor retail space, a “significant” amount of parking, and possibly a big-box store.

Safiotti said the all-in commercial re-development of the site will cost more than $100 million. “There’s a lot of demand for office space now from people that live in the neighborhood and don’t want to commute to the city,” said Safiotti.

The site is another foothold in Heritage’s firm grasp of Williamsburg property. In the past two years, the company has purchased several sites in the North Williamsburg area, including the St. Vincent de Paul church and an adjacent property, between Bedford and Driggs Avenues, to be converted into residential units, and a site at 310 North 7th Street purchased for $9.45 million, with plans for a residential building.

The area nearby the site has been a hotspot for redevelopment, including the hip Wythe Hotel, developed by Two Trees Management, which opened in May 2012, and bowling alley/music venue Brooklyn Bowl, which opened in 2009.

“From North 9th Street to North 13th Street, there’s so much redevelopment happening,” said Safiotti. “The whole area’s on fire.”

Construction is expected to begin in late 2014, while pricing expectations for second-floor office space are in the high 40’s to high 50’s per square foot.

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